Quick and Easy Herb Gardening with the Kids

Involving kids in gardening can be a great experience and educational resource for children. If you do not have the time to have a big garden or the space, there are other options you can use. How about planting a herb garden with your kids?

There are many different possibilities on the market for planting herb gardens. The probably oldest way is to get a pot or container and fill it with potting soil. Then add some seeds that you can buy at many garden centers or even at your local department or grocery store sometimes. Spread only a few seeds per pot and then cover with about one inch of soil. Water carefully; try not to reveal the seeds. From there a consistent watering and some patience will bring up the herbs you are looking for within a couple of weeks. Read more..

Easy Vegetable Garden Growing for Condo or Apartment Living

Are you living the city life, but sometimes wish you had room for a good old-fashioned vegetable garden? Take heart – there are many city dweller who appreciate the work and bounty of vegetable gardening. Who said that apartment living should automatically exclude you from the pleasures of vegetable gardening? Here are a few ideas for successful and easy vegetable garden growing for condo or apartment living. Read more..

Easy Strawberry Pot Fountain Idea for your Patio Garden Area

This is an easy garden project that can lend your yard with charm and the soothing sound of water. A strawberry pot foundation is a wonderful way to liven up an otherwise drab patio garden area. Many long-time gardeners swear by the idea that a garden is simply not complete with some kind of water fixture to imbue your garden with a sense of peace and serenity. A strawberry pot fountain, besides providing your garden patio with the soothing sounds of trickling water, also doubles as a lovely birdbath.

Why a Strawberry Pot Fountain?

If you are trying to choose a weekend garden project, why should you opt for a strawberry pot fountain? Why not simply head out to your local nursery and purchase a readymade fountain? There is an undeniable sense of accomplishment in creating your very own water garden fountain. One of the reasons that the strawberry pot fountain has become so popular is that it adds life and motion to an otherwise dull garden. The steady trickling sound of water has been described as soothing and very melodious. With a quiet trickle, you don’t have to worry about splashing or damage to a wooden deck, as you would with more powerful fountains.

The Basic Design of the Strawberry Pot Fountain Garden

The basic design of the strawberry pot fountain garden is simple enough. Use a low terra-cotta bowl to form the base of the fountain. This base will be catching the falling water of the fountain. Use a terra cotta azalea pot that is wider than it is taller. You will invert the terra cotta azalea at the bottom of the bowl, and this will support the strawberry pot. This section will also hide the re-circulating pump. The water is pumped through clear tubing that is contained inside of the strawberry pump. Water will flow through the clear tubing and then pumped through the clear tubing inside of the strawberry pot. The water will gurgle out the top and into a saucer, which will then trickle down lightly over the rim of the saucer and into the low bowl.

The Practicalities of Building a Strawberry Fountain Pot

Here are some of the practicalities of building your very own strawberry fountain pot. This time estimate for completing this project is about four hours, but you will also need to let the fountain pot dry for at least two days. The cost of making a strawberry fountain pot is roughly $225. As for tools, you should have handy a paintbrush, a bucket, a sharp pair of shears, a round file and various-sized masonry and drill bits. The basic parts of a strawberry pot fountain are a tapered terra cotta bowl that is about 24 inches wide and 8 inches deep, a terra cotta strawberry pot that is 14 inches wide and about 13 inches in height, a terra cotta azalea pot that is 10 inches wide and 7 inches deep, a terra cotta saucer that is 9 inches wide so that it can sit comfortably on top of your strawberry pot, a plastic saucer, a pump with a flow that is adjustable to two feet, a bag of river rock, clear vinyl tubing, a brass pipe thread adapter, a female brass bell reducer, a brass close nipple, terra cotta vinyl sealer, a waterproof adhesive, silicone sealer and roughly six one-gallon water plants.

Basic Steps for Putting Together Your Strawberry Pot Fountain

Begin by sealing the terra cotta pots, allowing them to dry for at least 24 hours. Drill holes and file down the silt, and then install the brass fittings. Install the saucers and apply some waterproof adhesive to the bottom edge of the plastic saucer. Once you have put together the brass fittings, it is time to assemble all the pieces of your fountain, add the plants and the water.

Your Simple Guide to a Successful Tomato Container Garden

Even if you do not have a big back yard and space for a big vegetable garden you can still grow vegetables such as tomatoes. Tomatoes are a great first vegetable to try in a container garden. Container gardens can be cultivated on balconies, patios, outdoor window sills, along the driveway or even on a roof top. There are a few essential tips to container gardening that you should keep in mind. Read more..

Great Herbal Gift Ideas from the Garden

One of the greatest joys of being a gardener is sharing your bounty. Most gardeners are proud to show off the fruits of their labor, and it can be so much fun putting together your very own homemade, garden-inspired gifts. If you are fortunate enough to have your own thriving herb garden, here are a few inspired gift ideas that will have your lucky recipients enjoying the aromas and flavors straight from your garden.

Design Your Own Herbal-Inspired Garden Candles

Candles are one of those versatile gifts that you can give to close friends and family. They are both practical and luxuriant, providing warmth (literally) and imparting a sense of hearth and home. If you have experience with candle making, this can be a fun and creative way to treat your family and friends to a handmade gift. Use your own herbal garden to infuse your candles with special scents from your garden. Use flowers, herbs and leaves to meld them directly into the wax. You can create stunning results with minimal effort. Even if you have no candle making experience, you can purchase high quality plain candles and add your own herbal touch, directly from your garden.

Create Personal Herbal Satchels

For those family members and friends who love potpourri and all good things nice-smelling, create personal herbal satchels. This is a great way to keep dried flowers and petals that still have plenty of aroma and life left in them. Plunder your old flower arrangements, bouquets and your own blooming garden for dried flowers, herbs and petals. Toss these wonderfully aromatic dried herbs and flowers together and package them in pretty satchels, bowls or jars. It may take a while to determine which herbs and flower scents work well together, but it is usually a pretty safe bet that most recently fresh flower petals will create a delicious aroma. Tie a pretty bow around your satchel, and watch your recipients faces light up. This makes the perfect gift for your favorite romantic or flower-lover in your life.

Bottle Up Your Own Herb Infused Oil Concoctions

Do you have a gourmet cook in the family? If so, here is a perfect gift idea for those appreciate the finer things in life. One of the best ways to preserve fresh herbs is to save them in herbal oils. Use a high quality cooking oil, such as cold-pressed olive oil. Use a decorative kitchen bottle and fill it with high quality oil. Then add a sprig or two of your favorite garden herb. Good choices include fresh rosemary sprigs, thyme or other fresh herbs growing in your garden. Tie a pretty bow on the bottle, and you are set. This makes a great housewarming gift, too. Inform your recipient that your herb-infused oil concoction will be at its prime in two months time.

More Fun and Easy Gift Ideas for the Gourmet on Your List

For those in your life who appreciate good cooking, here are a few more ideas on how to turn your fresh herb garden into wonderful gifts. You can create herbal vinegars that your recipient can use to flavor salads and create their own salad dressings. You can also create spicy and fresh herb seasoning mix packets. This is a great idea if you grow regional herbs and you want to share your area’s flavors with an out-of-towner. If you have a favorite martini-drinker in your family, consider making flavored vodka. You can brew your very own flavored vodka, infused with such fragrant herbs as lavender or rosemary. This is a unique and wonderful hostess or house-warming gift that will surely wow even the most discerning friend or family member.

Got a Basement? Grow Mushrooms It’s Easy!

Think that your dark and damp basement is good for storing all of those things that you don’t know what to do with and nothing else? Think again! You can make good use of the basement by turning it into your own mushroom garden. The dark and clammy atmosphere that makes you want to stay out of your basement most of the time is the perfect growing environment for mushrooms. Once you set things up, growing mushrooms in your basement couldn’t be easier. Now, when you want to add some fresh vegetables to your table, you won’t have to run out to the store. All you will have to do is run down those basement steps and grab a few mushrooms from your basement garden!

Homeowners tend to worry about the idea of mushrooms growing in their home. After all, seeing mushrooms springing up on their own is a sign of serious damps – which means serious trouble for the structure of the home. The fact of the matter is, however, that basements are naturally damp – a certain amount of dampness in the basement is not a sign of any problems with your home – and you can use this dampness to your benefit by cultivating mushrooms.

Before you start growing your mushrooms, make sure the conditions in your basement are right. A little bit of light won’t hurt your mushroom plants at all, but they will not grow if there is full light in your basement. If your basement is not entirely underground and it gets full light during the day, you will want to close off a dark area for your mushroom plants. Temperature is another factor you will need to manage. You want the temperature to stay between 55°F and 60°F – you can check on this by taking leaving a thermometer in different places in your basement for a few days to see how the temperature fluctuates. Last but not least, you must make sure you basement is not overly drafty or dry. Drafts dry out the air in the basement, which will kill your mushroom plants. If your basement is too dry, you can manage this by watering your plants more frequently or by buying premixed materials that will help keep the soil around your mushroom plants damp.

Once you have controlled for conditions, the easiest way to grow mushrooms in your basement, especially if you are a novice gardener, is to by prepared trays with the proper growing medium and mushroom spawns. These trays will take the guesswork out of the equation when it comes to mixing the growth medium and placing the mushroom spawns correctly in the soil. Each tray is about 16 inches long and they can be placed on benches or hung in a tier system. You will need to add about an inch of topsoil to each tray and water them properly for the conditions in your basement.

Daily watering of prepared trays should be all of the tending your mushroom garden needs, but if your mushrooms start to attract pests like slugs and snails (these creatures love mushroom gardens), leave out some lettuce leafs or cabbage leafs to draw them away. In around four weeks, your mushrooms will begin to peak out of the soil and be ready to eat.

When picking your mushrooms, never pull them out of the tray. This can hurt the mushrooms that have yet to bloom. Instead, cut off the large button mushrooms at their base and repack the soil around where you cut. If your practice this method, your mushroom plants will continue yielding mushrooms for about six months. When they are completely done growing, discard the tray – don’t try to replant in the same soil or reuse the tray for other growing.

Love Fresh Salsa? Planting these Veggies Will Get You Some – Eventually

Fresh salsa, something many of us love to see on the party table, but how to get fresh salsa is another topic. Most salsas have such ingredients as tomatoes, bell and hot peppers of different kind, onions and garlic. Besides these vegetables, spices, salt and sometimes vinegar are added for flavor. Any of these vegetables can be grown in your back yard and even on your patio, if that is all that you have available. Read more..

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